Blog Assignment #11

Little Kids...Big Potential

I must say it's hard to believe that was a first grade classroom in the video, Little Kids...Big Potential. I was really impressed with how much the children know and how interested they seem in their assignments and projects. The students are blogging, Skyping with other classes and experts, and using Wikis. I believe Ms. Cassidy's approach to teaching exemplifies how a 21st century classroom should look. The students were able to explain just how they use all different forms of technology every day.

The students really seemed to enjoy blogging and receiving comments on their blog posts. They are proud of the fact that their writing gets better every time they blog. They understand the proper ways to comment on someone's blog. The main rule for commenting is to never leave a negative comment on someone's blog. Only say kind words! They also use their blogs as an online portfolio for their work, which I think is a neat idea. The students know never to use their last names on the internet, which is a very important safety procedure.

Ms. Cassidy has a class webpage that the students can refer to when they want to look for something on the internet. The webpage is student friendly and set up so the students have no trouble finding what they are looking for. The webpage has places where the children can go to learn. They can practice their math and reading, among other subjects. They can choose to go on the webpage during center time and from home.

In the video, viewers were given an idea of how the students used Wikis. The students wanted to use the Wikis to ask about traditions. They invited people from all over the world to share their family traditions. The students asked what were some family traditions for the holidays (Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, etc). This also gave the students an idea of how different people and cultures celebrate certain holidays.

Overall, I was overly impressed with this video and how Ms. Cassidy uses all forms of technology in her classroom. She even enlisted the help from current and previous students to make the video! Watching this video has given me so many ideas for projects involving technology. I really like the idea of Skyping other classes from all over the United States and even the world. This helps students learn how to communicate with others and become more connected. Blogging is another fun way for students to practice their reading and writing. I plan to have a class blog when I start teaching and require my students to keep their own blogs. They will have weekly blog assignments and be required to comment on a classmate's blog post. I also rather like the idea of having my students comment on student's blogs from around the world. This would be exciting and beneficial for the students. Kudos to Ms. Cassidy for showing viewers just what a 21st century classroom looks like.